Heretofore, canting grippers in the form of a canting washer for arresting the piston rod of a door closure has been well known, as taught in several of my prior U.S. Patents, viz. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,630,248; 5,832,562 and 5,842,255. Similar canting washer type grippers have also been used to arrest or drive the piston of well known caulking guns. While such known canting washer type grippers are generally reliable and simple, it has been noted that they are not suitable for use for arresting or driving rods that are required to maintain a smooth or highly finished surface having a low coefficient of friction. As such known canting washers are generally formed of steel or hard metals, it has been noted that over time and repetitive use, the canting washer type grippers tend to score or impart micro indents upon the smooth surface of the rod which is unacceptable in certain applications. For example, in hydraulic actuated door closures or the like, where the rod functions as a piston rod, it is imperative that the surface of the piston rod be maintained smooth so as to prevent any loss of the actuating hydraulic fluid. Any pitting, scoring or micro denting the surface of such piston rod will eventually defeat any seal through which the piston rod moves relative to the door closure cylinder to cause resulting loss of the hydraulic actuating fluids.